


Relaxed Grace

by Josh89



Series: NYC Grace [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Breather Episode, Case resumes properly next Chapter, Detectives, Don't copy to another site, F/M, I promise, Major Character(s), Major Original Character(s), Minor Canonical Character(s), POV Third Person, Past Character Death, Past Tense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-21 01:35:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21066602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh89/pseuds/Josh89
Summary: Tobias and Monica have coffee together, Tobias tells her about his job and his younger sisters, and they make plans for the next night.





	Relaxed Grace

“So, Tobias, what can you tell me about yourself that you haven’t already told me?” the young student queried, taking another small sip of the coffee that sat on the table between her and the detective, surveying him with the brilliant emerald-green eyes that had been part of the reason he had been so interested in her in the first place.  
He gave her a small smile in return. “Considering how little I mentioned about myself yesterday, apart from my family and that I’m a homicide detective partnered with my best friend and my ex-girlfriend, probably quite a lot”.  
Monica nodded slightly. “How awkward is that, exactly? You know, working with your ex-girlfriend and having her constantly trying to get back together with you?”  
Tobias shrugged. “It was rather awkward at first, but after the first few weeks had passed, and she seemed to realise that I had no interest whatsoever in actually getting back together with her, she seemed to settle down a bit. Sure, she still flirts with me almost all the time, but I guess I’ve just learned to tune it out after a while, you know?”  
The woman across from him took another sip of her coffee. “Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. Anyway, we’re getting off topic here”.  
She paused, pointing her spoon dramatically at him. “Get talking, Grace”.  
Tobias raised an eyebrow at the action, but couldn’t stop a slight grin from playing across his features. He sat back slightly in his chair, crossing his arms. “What do you want to know?”  
“What made you decide that you wanted to become a homicide detective in the first place? It just seems like such an unlikely choice of occupation for someone with parents like yours”  
Tobias smiled slightly. “I guess it is an unlikely occupation. But that’s exactly what I love about it the most. People aren’t expecting the son of Jason and Piper Grace to be working as a Homicide Detective instead of… oh, I don’t know, a lawyer or a doctor or something. And defying expectations has always been something I’ve been good at doing. But if I’m really honest, I guess the reason I became a detective is because I’ve always loved solving puzzles and mysteries, ever since I was a boy, and my job gives me the opportunity to do that while helping people get justice for the deaths of those they love. Sometimes for people of less… reputable… character as well, but mostly for loved ones”.  
“Must be hard work” Monica commented idly.  
“It is, yes. But being able to help people get closure, seeing the relief on their faces when I tell them the name of the person responsible for the murder of their loved ones and that the killer will be going away for a long time? That’s what makes it all worth it in the end” Tobias agreed.  
“How long does it usually take to solve a homicide case, anyway?” Monica queried.  
Tobias shrugged, taking a quick sip of the (now-lukewarm) coffee in front of him as he thought about the question. “It usually takes my partners and me around a week, give or take a couple of days. But there have been a few that have taken longer. Really, it all depends on how useful the evidence that we find is, what kind of leads we get, whether or not our suspects are in the city when we need them to be. And that’s not including the serial cases…”  
Monica raised an eyebrow, leaning forwards in her chair in interest. “Serial cases?”  
“Some of the cases we work… well, they don’t just involve one victim. There was this case we worked a couple of months ago, in fact. The Jessica Williams case, as I like to refer to it. She was a 26-year old woman who was found strangled in her bedroom. We discovered the case was linked to a couple of the cold cases we’d been unable to solve previously and worked it for a few days without leads before a man named Miles Ford was found dead, murdered in the same way as the previous victims. The killer, a man by the name of Aaren Alisini, got overconfident and sloppy. He left his fingerprints all over the rope used to kill Miles, and we were finally able to identify him and take him into custody. Or at least we should have been able to…”  
Monica looked thoughtful. “Should have been able to?”  
“He shot himself before we could disarm him”.  
Monica blinked in surprise. “Oh”.  
“Yeah. Anyway… could we talk about something a little less depressing now, please? This isn’t really the kind of conversation I’d like to have over coffee”  
Monica gave him a slight smile. “You said something about having two younger sisters, right?”  
Tobias nodded. “That’s right. Katrina and Rebecca”  
“Tell me about them?”  
The young detective smiled fondly. “They’re fraternal twins, about twelve years younger than me, and Rebecca is the older twin by five minutes. Rebecca’s slightly taller than Kat, with long hair the same shade of brown as my mother’s, and the same sky-blue eyes as my father and myself. Katrina is slightly shorter than her twin sister, though still of average height for a 10-year old girl and has the same blonde hair I do, but she definitely has my mother’s eyes. Personality-wise, they’re pretty similar. Both are outgoing, friendly and love taking any possible opportunity to meet new people and do new things, but Katrina has always been more of a leader than Rebecca”.  
“What kind of subjects are they interested in?” Monica queried.  
“All sorts of things, interestingly enough. Last time I saw them, Katrina was engrossed in a project about the planet Jupiter that she was doing with my father’s help, and Rebecca was doing something about sea turtles”.  
“That sounds cute”  
Tobias smiled. “It is. They’re good kids, they really are. And I love spending time with them whenever I can, that much is for sure. I just wish I could spend more time with them, that’s all”.  
Monica nodded. “I wish I could meet them”  
Tobias smiled. “Well maybe I’ll introduce you to them sometime”. If this goes on as long as I hope it does, then I’ll have no reason not to introduce you to them he mused.   
“I’d like that”.  
As Tobias contemplated his next response, his iPhone chirped quietly in his pocket. He pulled it out, glancing briefly at the screen, and sighed. “I’m so sorry, but I have to take this. It might be important”.  
“No problem”  
Tobias gave her a smile before walking outside and leaning against the wall, putting his iPhone to his ear as he did so. “Yes?”  
Almost immediately, the medical examiner’s voice filled the detective’s ears. “I’ve identified the murder weapon. A small, stiletto-like blade. Probably thin enough to slip between the ribs and into the heart without leaving too much damage”.  
“So you were right about the cause of death then” the detective observed.  
“Correct”.  
Tobias smiled. Finally, they were actually starting to make some progress on the case. “Good work, Miranda. Have a copy of the lab results and the autopsy sent to my email as soon as they’re done, will you?”  
“Of course, Detective”.  
And with that, Miranda hung up, and Tobias sighed, tucking his phone back into his pocket and walking back into the small cafe to rejoin Monica. “So, who was it?” the student queried.  
Tobias didn’t miss the glint of what might have been very faint jealousy in the young woman’s emerald eyes. “Dr. Miranda Reese, the head of the Precinct’s forensic team and one of the city’s best medical examiners. She also happens to secretly have a crush on Damien Smith, the head detective from the Robbery floor. She wanted to let me know that she identified the murder weapon used to kill our latest victim, that’s all”  
“Oh”.  
Monica’s relief was evident. Tobias smiled gently, slipping his hand over hers where it lay flat on the table. The student looked surprised at this, but didn’t pull away, a light blush slowly creeping to her cheeks at the contact. “So I was thinking about that dinner I asked you out on last night…”  
“The one you were somewhat vague about?”  
Monica’s eyes sparkled as she posed the question, and the detective nodded. “That one, yes. Well, I was thinking… Maybe we could have dinner and see a movie or something tomorrow night? I hear Forbidden Planet is showing at the Angelika”.  
Monica smiled brilliantly. “I’d like that. I’d like that a lot. Forbidden Planet is one of my all-time favourite films, so it would be nice to see it again”.  
“Alright, it’s settled. I’m really looking forward to it”.  
“Me too, Tobias. Me too”.


End file.
